David R

Nice work, do you do much/any kiwi stuff??

I think that is the key point here, an aquarium SHOULD be just like a cosy replica of an animals natural environment (IMO) and with very specific feeders like nudi's that isn't exactly simple.

so they don't have ich but they do have whitespot? :facepalm: Go to the "Diseases" forum and read the first thread "How to identify common diseases". Once you've identified if you have Ich or whitespot ( ) go to the "Search" function at the top of the page and have a look thru the old threads where this topic has been covered time and time again. Here's a couple of starters for you; viewtopic.php?f=25&t=61520 viewtopic.php?f=25&t=56578 viewtopic.php?f=25&t=59857 Up to you to decide which method you use (salt or meds), but either way I'd recommend turning the temp up to 30-31C and doing large water changes every 1-2 days.

Quite likely I'd say. As Jack said these fry would probably be a good start for a SRT breeding program, but if you think you're buying this fish then you'll be sadly disappointed...

Quite possibly, might be worth investing in a good quality one if its for the tank?

Good point Alan, might want to test out the water in the tank with something cheaper than Brutus first... Here's an idea that might help with the Auto-wc system; have pump in sump and a float valve to top it off with a gravity feed or from the tap. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ted-system!

Yes H. cyanoguttatus is the "true" texas cichlid (haven't seen one here), but carpintis is fairly similar and I'm guessing would probably have been one of the main components in making a red texas as they are far more common than cyanoguttatus in the hobby. The colour of the fish on trademe sort-of resembles an unfaded midas/devil, I'd put my money on the parents being either midas/devil X flowerhorn or midas/devil X texas (H. carpintis). And if thats the case the chances of getting anything close to a "super red texas" out of the fry would be slim at best...

Sweet looking place! Do I spy a downstairs concrete-floored tank room??!! :thup: I think as Smidey said the only thing to worry about is how clean the water tank and gutters are. First thing to do is to test the water, but I'm guessing it will be fine (I was using roof water for my tank while staying at Mum&Dads and despite their cat crapping all over the roof the water in the tank still had no detectable ammonia/nitrite/nitrate). Rain water is very soft tho, and you may need to use crushed shell/coral to help buffer, and/or dose with calcium/baking soda etc during water changes. Can nearly be treated the same as RO water, water from my tank has around 6ppm TDS, so virtually nothing!

No kids + two incomes = big tanks... 8)

Start with big discus and a smaller aro and its very achievable, IMO a black would be your best choice as they seem to be the most mellow IME.

Depends on the species IMO, silvers are the cheapest but also the fastest and largest growing. IMO if you went for either a black or asian in the 1700x700 footprint tank you'd have around 2-3 years depending on how fast the fish grows. The 700 width is good, but the length will be starting to get a little short when the fish hits 2' IMO, I've found aros tend to get spooked easier and damage themselves more when they have less room to move. I think black aro + discus + plants is an awesome combo! http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... and-Discus

I wrote them a big email about how terrible their new layout was, and then they informed me there was a little button that would take you back to the old layout, and I replied with "best feature of the new layout, don't ever remove it"! Make sure you tell them you're switching back because the new one is terrible and hopefully they'll get the message...

Would love to see more pics!! Those crested weedfish are awesome!! Now I'm back in Northland it seems like the perfect time for a native marine tank, stop distracting me from my other project!!! :sml1:

Getting NSW 1000L at a time may be a bit of a hassle!! You've certainly reignited my interest in doing a tank like this Thomas, I'll try treat it as motivation to get my big tank done so I can convert the smaller one rather than as a complete distraction. I'm looking forward to seeing updates on this tank.

Damn you and your interesting SW adventures! You know what I've been thinking about all day instead of my big tank build..... :sml1:

Go get a price per M for H3 treated 90x45, and for the sheets of ply you need, and work out how much timber you'll need. No idea what fibreglass costs but it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a rough estimate. Might have to hit up your guy for a price for my steel stand as HFF can't get them any more (currently looking for a new supplier).

The calculations tell us that it should hold, anything over a safety factor of 1 should theoretically hold IF the glass has no flaws, it is perfectly assembled and adequately braced, and evenly supported on a dead level solid stand. The safety factor is the "ass-covering" factor and that is what the calculator is designed to calculate based on the physical properties of glass (and not someones idea of an "ass covering factor"). Obviously who ever built the tank was confident enough in his skills and glass supplier to believe that 0.5 over what is needed is enough "ass-covering". The general consensus here seems to be that you want at least 2 times SF, and closer to 3 is ideal, though what that is based on I am not sure (maybe Warren can elaborate?).

Should be easy enough to do if you're going timber frame + fibreglass, I have ideas in my head but its easier to scribble a picture on a piece of paper than describe it in words! You just need to construct a secondary tank beside/behind the main tank with an overflow running in to it, then the socks, then the bio media. Just make sure it is big enough....

If you're going DIY and only using one panel of glass go for 900 high and bite the bullet on 19mm glass (and get ultra-clear too!), will be worth it long-run IMO. Jack; Brians big tank has a 19mm glass panel, and is 270x120x90cm IIRC. Epic tank, you need to pay him a visit before embarking on this project Henward! He is braver than I am going 800 high with 12mm glass! Has he got it stocked yet? I haven't checked the thread in a while.

and thank goodness for that!! Hang some glowsticks in your room if you want a trippy effect after dark, with naturally occurring attractive new species like the ones in the first post being discovered all the time the last thing we need to do is turn animals into some sort of novelty decoration...

handiest 'tools' for anyone keeping more than a nano tank are a siphon hose that reaches out the nearest window/drain and a dedicated clean 'indoor' hose for refilling the tank afte a water change (pro tip; dragging the dirty leaking garden hose thru the house will not make you popular). I haven't used a bucket, aside from rinsing media and acclimatising fish, in years. A long length of really think plastic tubing (Bunnings sell some real thin stuff) is great for acclimatising new fish too, I hate the bag floating method...

car-battery powered pump + tank on trailer/ute???

Just go bigger...... :digH:

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, I'm going to build something to mount it above the tank tomorrow, so won't rely on the sticky stuff to hold it there...

or if you size your sump correctly so there is room to hold the water that drains down from the tank then it doesn't matter.....